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  <title>BBC SPORT | Olympics | Gymnastics | Olympic probe into gymnasts' ages</title>
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    Olympic probe into gymnasts' ages
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        Video - China women win team gymnastics
      
    
      
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                        By Michael Bristow
                    
      
    
      
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                        BBC News, Beijing
                    
      
    
      
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        The International Olympic Committee has instigated an investigation into the ages of several Chinese gold-medal-winning gymnasts.
      
    
      
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        China is being asked to hand over extra documents to confirm that five gymnasts were old enough to compete.

      
    
      
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        The BBC has seen one document on the internet that suggests gold medal winner He Kexin is only 14 years old, not 16 as the rules require.

      
    
      
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        Chinese officials have strenuously denied the allegations.

      
    
    
  

  
    
      
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        If true, they would tarnish the home nation's image.

      
    
      
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        Recurring issue
      
    
      
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        For several months, there have been rumours about the ages of a number of Chinese gymnasts.

      
    
      
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        The International Gymnastics Federation confirmed it was looking into the cases of Miss He, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Li Shanshan and Deng Linlin.

      
    
      
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All five were awarded gold medals at this Olympics, as part of the Chinese female squad that won the women's team event.

      
    
      
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        The BBC has seen an internet document apparently from the website of China's General Administration of Sport, dated last year.

      
    
      
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        It lists China's gymnasts and records He Kexin's birthday as 1 January, 1994 - that would mean she is only 14.

      
    
      
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        But on the Beijing games official website, Miss He's birthday is given as 1 January, 1992, which would mean she is 16.

      
    
      
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        The age issue has already been investigated twice by the IOC, in the spring of this year and just before the games began.

      
    
      
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        But on Friday, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said: "We have asked the gymnastics federation to look into what have been quite a number of questions and apparent discrepancies on this case."

      
    
      
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        Ms Davies said she was confident that the gymnasts did meet Olympic age requirements. China was even more confident. Wang Wei, executive vice-president of the Beijing organising committee, said an investigation had already been held into the matter.

      
    
      
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        "If they had not been cleared, they would not have participated in the games," he said at a press conference.

      
    
      
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        'Indignant'
      
    
      
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        Lu Shanzhen, chief coach of China's women's gymnastics team, told the BBC that "relevant documents" belonging to He had been given to the IOC and the International Gymnastics Federation yesterday.

      
    
      
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        The items, including an old passport, a residency card and her current identity card, were issued by various departments of the Chinese government.

      
    
      
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        "It's only because there is a rivalry between the Chinese and American women's gymnastics teams that these questions have arisen," Mr Lu said.

      
    
      
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        The United States came second to China in the women's team event.

      
    
      
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        Mr Lu also told reporters that the parents of the gymnasts were "indignant" over persistent questions about their daughters' ages.

      
    
      
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        "They have faced groundless suspicion. Why aren't they believed? Why are their children suspected? Their parents are very angry," he said.

      
    
      
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        "It is in the interests of all concerned, not least the athletes themselves, to resolve this issue once and for all," said the International Gymnastics Federation later in a statement.

      
    
      
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        The age rule was introduced in 1997 to protect the health of young gymnasts.

      
    
      
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Story from BBC SPORT:<br>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/olympics/gymnastics/7575929.stm<br>
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Published: 2008/08/22 13:42:47 GMT<br>
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&copy; BBC MMVIII<br>
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